CHRISSY OHLINGER / Special to the PVTRichard Regnell says he has seen blue orbs in three dimensions appear in photos of the Opera House, as if they are sitting in the chair. Richard Regnell stands to the right of the mirror which separates the restored half of the hotel from the area in disrepair known as Spooky Hollow. Richard Regnell stands to the right of the mirror which separates the restored half of the hotel from the area in disrepair known as Spooky Hollow. Richard Regnell stands to the right of the mirror which separates the restored half of the hotel from the area in disrepair known as Spooky Hollow. Advertisement

DEATH VALLEY JUNCTION, Calif. -- The Amargosa Hotel and Opera House is famous for several reasons, and that includes for being haunted.

On the national registry for haunted places, the hotel receives quite a bit of attention for its status as one of the most haunted hotels in America, despite lack of publicity by the hotel staff.

Richard Regnell, current manager of the Amargosa Hotel and Opera House doesn't mind the attention, but he has only taken over management within the last year.

Regnell speculates that the hotel may be haunted, but he also wonders how much media hype may influence guests who stay at the hotel.

"I take the things that are told me with a grain of salt," he said.

The building from which the opera house and hotel now operate has a human history and drama to spark the imagination of guests and visitors, but very little horror actually occurred there.

The only tragedy documented on the property happened in 1967, when a young girl drowned in a bathtub. This, however, happened at an employee family housing area in the rear of the property.

Even though most of the property's past is more mundane albeit historic, there is still an eccentric ring to it.

When the Opera House was originally constructed in the 1920s, the building housed all of the amenities for a small town of miners, such as a meeting house, a barbershop and restaurant.

The building also included a hospital for the miners of the town, located in the same wing as the current Opera House. After treatment, patients were moved either to the left of the hospital to recover, or to the right side of the hospital -- to the morgue.

Although no especially tragic events have been recorded at the hospital, guests and employees believe this to be a likely source of paranormal activity.

Another source of ghost stories is attributed to the men's and women's dormitories. Only half of the dormitory building was reconstructed to what is now the Amargosa Hotel. The other half remains in a state of disrepair.

The un-restored half is closed to the public but has earned the name "Spooky Hollow" by reputation. "We're in an old building where anything can happen," says Regnell. It may appear more spooky due to lack of repair than any actual ghosts.

However, two rooms in this wing generate repeated reports of strange occurrences.

The atmosphere in Room 32 easily gives visitors the creeps, but there is no known story that relates to the room.

Unlike Room 24 of this section, which has been nicknamed "the baby crying room."

Many guests at the Hotel report a baby that wails all night. Some even complain to the management in the morning, when in fact there were no children present in the Hotel all night.

Everyone who visits the hotel reports that certain rooms have very characteristic scents.

One room smells like perfume while another room smells like lilac. The smells are pleasant, but Regnell said, "We don't do anything to make the rooms smell like that. They just do."

Staff can't do anything to make the rooms smell differently either. No amount of air freshener or clean air can clear away the scent.

Of course, ghosts are not the only possible cause for a particular smell.

Like a children's ghost story about a haunted hotel room, the spooky occurrences, real or imagined, are enough to drive many guests to leave in the middle of the night.

About once a month, guests simply pack their bags and leave. Sometimes they leave a note, sometimes no notice at all, but the occurrence is frequent enough that the hotel staff is not surprised when guest check out in the middle of the night.

Some of the staff have their own stories to tell about the hotel.

Brittany Jenkins helps in the restaurant and with housekeeping. She was cleaning a shower in a guest room one day when, she recalls, "The shower turned on -- on me. I was kind of hot, but not that hot." The hotel ghosts have either retained their original sense of humor or else are just naturally helpful.

One day Jenkins heard a father and his daughter who were guests at the hotel, speaking about the night before. The father asked his daughter, "Why did you get up so many times last night?" The daughter replied, "I didn't. Why did you?"

Both guests had heard footsteps across the room all night long.

Regnell is passive about the alleged ghost stories. "I think it is important to know about our history -- where we were, where we're going, all the way to the end. There is no definitive. I leave it up to the guests to decide for themselves."